


Merry Christmas Gallavich!

by JD_Steiner



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21801322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_Steiner/pseuds/JD_Steiner
Summary: They are still pretty fresh out of prison and had both agreed that they wouldn't worry about getting each other anything for Christmas. Rather, they would start saving to get their own place together as they both felt the time was right. They didn't want to have to spend another minute apart...Debs knows that soon enough, she will have a house full again but that was normal for the Gallaghers. She is really looking forward to seeing her siblings and gathering everyone together again to share meals and catch up with the short amount of time that they have. In typical Shameless fashion, things break down into chaos but there is also a surprise or two along the way...~*MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!*~(Especially the Gallavich Fanfic Book Club on Facebook!)
Relationships: Carl Gallagher/Kelly Keefe, Ian Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Christmas With The Gallaghers

December 25th

Early morning

Debbie is at the counter, standing over the hot griddle full of French toast, spatula in hand. Frannie is sitting at the end of the table closest to the window already eating, squirming in her seat, eager to see what is under the tree. Lip sits at the opposite end of the table, closest to the counter, coffee in hand. His hair mused, eyes tired.

Mickey came bounding down over the kitchen stairs, a smile on his face

“Good Morning Family! Merry Christmas!” He headed for the coffee pot, glancing at Lip as he passed by...

“Whoa, rough night?”

“Yeah, the little guy kept me up. I managed to get a few hours...I think..before being jumped on by this one.” He motions to Franny who grins at her Uncle.

“Sorry Lip, she was really excited.” Debbie chimed in “I couldn’t keep her in bed any longer, she was driving me nuts.”

“So you sic’d her on me…hey, Mick bring that coffee over here, would ya?”

Mickey bought over the coffee pot, emptying the last of it into Lip’s cup “Maybe you should go jump on your Uncle Ian next.” He half-joked, as upstairs, the baby started to wail. Lip rolled his tired eyes and got up from the table “Be right back.”

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Ian came down “No need, I’m up!” Rubbing his left eye with his knuckles “Man that kid’s got a set of lungs on him!” he moves so Lip can get past him. In the kitchen, Mickey is making some fresh coffee. Ian goes over to him, wrapping an arm around Mick’s chest he leans down, kissing Mick on the cheek making him grin.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Ian whispers in Mick’s ear sweetly.

“Don’t forget your meds, Ian.” Debs reminded him, waving the spatula in his face as Ian rolls his eyes.

“Already on it.” Ian takes his meds down from the top of the fridge and lays them out on the counter, taking out each dose of each med before going to the fridge to get some juice. “Where's Liam? He can't still be asleep?”

Lip comes back downstairs with the baby in his arms.

“Not a good situation up there.” Lip giggles “But we are all better now, aren’t we?”

Debs brings over a plate of French Toast “Breakfast is served!” before turning to Ian to answer his question “Liam is over at Kev and Vee's, he'll be home later. Something about experiencing Christmas in an at least part black household??...”

_As the adults were three-quarters of the way done their breakfast..._

“All done!” Franny announced as he put her fork down on her plate, all smiles.

“Do you think it’s a good thing you gave her sugar this early?” Mickey cocked an eyebrow at Debs “Cause you know, I was thinkin’ about catchin’ a nap at some point today.”

“It’ll be fine, give her a few hours and she’ll crash. I guess this means that it’s time for presents!”

Everyone grabbed their cups of coffee and followed Franny who skipped to the living room in utter delight at the brightly lit Christmas tree and the colorfully wrapped packages underneath.

_A little while later..._

Mickey sat on the sofa sipping his coffee, smiling as he watched Franny eagerly ripping the wrapping paper off of her presents.

Squeals of delight and excitement escaped her as she revealed what was hidden underneath before holding it up for everyone else to see. Currently, it was a baby doll complete in a little blue suit and with a bottle and pacifier from Uncle Lip, who is sitting in the recliner holding baby Freddy.

“Oh wow! Look at that, Frannie you have a baby just like Uncle!”

Frannie nodded eagerly, a smile on her face as she walked over to give Lip a hug.

Mick couldn't help but smile at the little girl, so happy, so innocent and care-free. Much like his own son who he hadn't seen in what? ... three or four years or more. As his thoughts drifted to Yev a sadness hit him and inside his chest, his heart ached a bit. Regret had started to settle deep in the pit of his stomach somewhere that he hadn't noticed before. Regret that he hadn't been there more. Sure, he had been in prison when Yev was a toddler. Even then he didn't really want much to do with the kid, but he did Love Yev. They were Family, blood.

Lost in thought he hadn't noticed that Ian was standing in front of him, holding a colorfully wrapped box.”What's this?” he took the box in his hands “I thought we said no gifts..”

“I know..” Ian replied, “We are supposed to be saving up to get our own place; but it wouldn't be Christmas without at least one gift under the tree, would it?”

Mick hung his head and considered this for a moment before looking up into Ian's almost pleading eyes

“Yeah, you're right.” He smiled again, remembering “It was always a 50/50 chance growin' up that we would get gifts. As a kid, that was hard, knowing Santa hadn't left you any presents underneath the tree when in reality it was my whore of a mother who took the hidden stash of cash and ran off with it to buy drugs and booze to go on a bender...Fuck knows where she is.. probably Mexico somewhere.”

He tore off the wrapping paper to reveal the box for an Asus laptop which got a quizzical eyebrow look in Ian's direction “A laptop?”

Ian nodded “I want you to be happy, Mick and I know one thing that would make you happy is if you find Yevgeny...I understand because..... I miss him too.”

The look on Mick's face softened and once again, Ian could see the love in his eyes along with the sadness they both shared for the child that Ian had once run off with, a child that they both loved. Ian had always been more like a second dad to Yev than anything else and had bonded with him right from the beginning. Mick nodded, understanding as tears glistened in his eyes and his lower lip trembled.

A single tear from each eye trickled down Ian's face as he wiped tears from Mick's with his thumbs.

“Don't worry, we'll find him and we will bring him home. When we do find him, this will be a way we can keep in contact, you know, video chat and stuff until we get him here with us.” Ian pressed his forehead to Mick's “It will happen, you'll see, it's just gonna take some time. Remember if you need to talk about it, I'm here and I feel the same way you do. I Love you.”

“Love You Too.”

They kiss through more tears; Ian's hands cupping Mick's face tenderly, lovingly as the room around them seemed to disappear as Ian placed the gift aside and straddled Mick and it was just the two of them...That is until Debbie interrupted them; asking “Who wants more coffee?”

Holding up his mug, Mick signaled “Over here!” he turned back to his lover “How about you, Ian?”

“Uh.. yeah what the hell, fill it up, Debs.” Ian offered his mug.

“You're gonna have to get offa me, Gallagher.”

“Why?” Ian asked, teasingly.

“Because one, you're making me super fucking horny...” Mick half-snapped low enough so only Ian could hear.

This made Ian smile devilishly, his long ginger hair hanging down in his face which was honestly driving Mick wild as he shifted his weight on the couch cushion and suppress his wanna-be raging boner as he continued “That is, if you want your gift, you are gonna have to get offa me.”

“What?” Ian gave Mick a quizzical look now, jokingly of course “I thought you said No Gifts?”

Mick smiled “Do you want it or not?”

Ian kissed Mick on the forehead before moving so that Mickey could get up. As soon as he was up, Ian claimed his spot, he got comfortable sipping his coffee as he watched his niece play.

Time seemed to pass in slow motion as it seemed Mick was taking forever to come back. When he did, he carried a box in his hands that seemed to move and shift on its own; even as it was placed on Ian's lap.

“What the?” Ian exclaimed as the box shifted again, startling him. Curious now, Frannie joined them as well as the flaps on the top of the box flew open and a fluffy long-haired ginger cat poked it's head out, it's big yellow eyes first looking up at Ian and blinking before taking in the rest of the room.

“Oooo! Kitty!” Frannie exclaimed excitedly.

“Merry Christmas, Ian.” Mickey kissed Ian lightly on the lips, seeing as there was a child present and paying attention to them at the moment. “I thought that maybe having a pet will help you know, with your bipolar. Plus if I'm not around you've got him to keep you company again until I am!” Mick smiled at Ian warmly, lovingly as the cat let out a loud meow, making them both laugh.

“Someone's jealous” Ian joked as he looked down at the newest member of the Gallagher clan in his lap. “What are we going to call you?”

Everyone present was too busy with the newest member of the family to notice the back door open and Frank walk in. Going to the fridge, he opened the door and procured himself a beer. With the psst sound as he twisted off the cap of the Old Style, he stood in the threshold between the living room and kitchen, spread his arms wide; announcing “Well, Merry Christmas to you too, Family!!”|


	2. Fuck You, Frank!

Things went silent and everyone turned to look at Frank who, already half plastered and probably high, chugged back some of the beer.

“C'mon' let's Celebrate, it's the birth of Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior!”

Ian strode across the room, ripping the beer from Frank's hand, clearly angry and annoyed

“I don't think so, Frank.”

“Really? You're gonna treat your old man like this, on Christmas?”

“Remember Frank, you're not my old man.”

“That is..true...”

“Lip, wanna come help me get rid of the Grinch over here?”

“Yep” Lip jumped up from his seat, laying baby Freddy on the sofa.”Watch him, Debs?”

Lip joined Ian and they each grabbed one of Frank's arms, dragging him towards the back door as he yelled

“You can't do this to me! I am your father and it's Christmas!!! Please, don't put me back out in the cold, all alone!”

“I'm sure there's a homeless shelter you can go to that has space and a nice hot turkey dinner waiting...That is if you haven't already been banned from all of 'em.” Lip remarked, giving Frank another little shove towards the door.

“Oh well, he's out of luck then!” Ian added, “I doubt that there's even a bar that's going to be open today.” This made Frank roll his eyes as they pushed him so that he was now standing on the threshold between the back door and the deck on the outside of the house.

A blur of orange shot through the kitchen, launching itself at Frank, latching itself to his chest which makes Frank scream out in surprise and pain as he feels the cats claws through the thin t-shirt he wore as he stumbles back through the door and onto the back deck, going through the railing and onto the snow and ice-covered ground below. No sooner did he hit the ground than the cat was gone, back around and up over the steps to the back door and into the house. While Ian locked the back door, while Lip checked the front the cat perched himself on the cart next to the counter, licking his paws that were covered in snow.

Mickey joined Ian and Lip in the kitchen “That cat's psycho!”

“Nah, he's just like us...” Ian remarked, “He hates Frank..for some reason.”

The three boys stared at the cat who looked very proud of what he had done as he groomed himself and purred contentedly.

“I think he'll fit in here just fine..” Ian and Mick looked at Lip who continued “He's a ginger and he hates Frank.. I'd say he's a Gallagher!”

Everyone broke out into a fit of laughter, unable to scold the cat for what he had done as it was exactly what they were trying to do. The laughter compounded by Ian and Mickey when Lip went over to the cat and tried to pet him but instead got hissed at and a swipe from an orange paw with angry, sharp nails.

“Ahh! Fuckin' Cat!” Lip shook his hand which stung as blood seeped through in angry red lines. It didn't look deep at least. “I'm gonna go upstairs and wash this off. Don't let that fuckin' orange maniac anywhere near Freddy.”

_Sometime later that day....._

“This all looks great, Debs!” Lip commented as he eyed the spread of food on the table

“I agree, I'm starved!!” Ian had moved to a spot across from Lip as the front door opened and Carl came in, hand in hand with Kelly who was all smiles dressed in a nice green dress and Santa hat.

“Hey fam, I'm home!”

“Carl! Kelly! They all chorused, taking turns exchanging hugs among the excitement and chatter as they settled down at the table to enjoy the meal that Debbie had prepared.

As Carl settled into his chair, he asked: “What's with the cat?”

The still-unnamed critter had taken up a perch on the back of the recliner so that he could see out the front window, his long, fluffy orange tail twitching as he watched something outside.

“Oh, that's my cat.” Ian filled Carl in “Mickey got him for me, says it will be good for me to have a pet.”

The cat let out a low growl as there came a loud banging on the front door. Debs rolled her eyes as she went to answer it.

“Debs!!”

“What do you want, Frank? I thought we told you to get lost.”

“Oh come on, you won't let Me in the house but yet you will let in that crazy animal?”

The cat's growl got louder as if it knew it was being insulted as it turned to stare in Deb's direction, tail still twitching.

“Do you hear that, Frank? Even the cat hates you.”

“I can't believe you will let that fleabag no good hooligan of an animal into MY house yet I, the father of you kids, am not allowed in my own home to enjoy Christmas dinner!!! Lovingly prepared by my youngest daughter I might add.”

“Like I've told you before, Frank. If you don't contribute to your share of the bills, you can't live here.”

“I contribute! I help around the house, I fix things...”

“Yeah more like you help yourself..to our food, our beer, our power, and water...”

Frank reaches into the pocket of the dirty jeans that he wore and pulled out a few crumpled bills in his palm “Fine, here, take it, that's all I've got.” He thrust the money into his youngest daughter's hand who looked at it and rolled her eyes.

“Three bux? Really Frank? I don't have time for this, we're about to sit down to dinner.” She started to push the door closed but Frank put a hand on it, pushing back and blocking her.

“Please Debbie, the apple of my eye, daddy's girl..”

This elicited another eye-roll from Debbie “Obviously you don't remember the bars of soap in the pillowcase and me yelling at you while I hit you with it when I was eleven...Goodbye, Frank.”

“Well can I at least have my three bucks back?”

“No. I'm keeping that change. Consider it deducted from what you owe us.” She states firmly before closing the door in Frank's face.

Debbie latched the deadbolt and chain on the door before turning back to the family “Fuckin' Frank!” she strode over and took her seat at the table. The cat was up in the front window and could be heard growling loudly as Frank stood outside, shouting at them which was only making the cat madder.

Everyone around the table busted out into a fit up uproarious laughter as Frank came closer to the window and the cat went crazy, thinking that he could attack Frank.

There was more banging on the door and Debs rolled her eyes with a groan.

“It's alright, I got it!” Lip jumped up and went to the door this time, expecting to see Frank, preparing to yell at him. Instead, he was met by the youngest Gallagher sibling, Liam.

“Welcome home little brother! Your just in time we are just sitting down to dinner.”

Taking off his hat, coat, and mittens, Liam joined them at the table “What are we talking about?”

Lip leaned over and filled him in as the talking around them continued.

“Where'd you say you got this cat from?” Ian posed the question to Mickey who sat beside him once he was able to catch his breath and talk.

“I didn't.” Mick offered, taking a gulp of his beer but it's a funny fuckin' story....” It appears he had everyone's attention now because the room had gone quiet and they were all staring at him, waiting for him to continue. While in the window, the cat continued to growl and outside, Frank continued to shout, not at his family but now at the feline who continued to terrorize him.

“Well, pass the potatoes and I'll tell you,” he said before launching into the story as Lip passed the bowl of mashed potatoes and the whole table began to dish up food, passing steaming bowls back and forth to one another.


	3. The Story of The Cat

“I'm at the Alibi and I go into the bathroom to take a leak but the fuckin' toilet's plugged and floodin' the bathroom. I let Kev know and head out to the back alley where I hear what sounds like Frank further down in the alley, arguing. I walk maybe five steps towards Frank to see what's going on; just as this fluffy orange cat that's growling, hisses at Frank and takes a swipe at him. It turns out Frank is arguing with this fucking cat, over what, I don't know. I gotta do all I can to keep from laughing.” A few hushed giggles had Mick pausing “Wait, it gets better!!”

Walking down the alley I call out 'Hey Frank, you Ok?' just as this cat launches itself off of the dumpster! I honestly thought that it was going to attach itself to Frank's face!!”

“Like an alien face-hugger!” Carl interrupted

“Yes, exactly like that!” Mick continues the story “Instead, it snatches the sandwich out of Frank's hand that apparently they were fighting over and takes off with it in the other direction as Frank's boot makes contact with the cat's ass.” He stops to take a swig of beer “The cat lets out a yelp so loud that I'd never heard before while still holding on to the sandwich. It turned around and growled at Frank as he yelled after it as it took off in the other direction “Something about 'Fucking hooligan of a cat thinks it deserves a meal more than me, a meal that I dug up...blah blah you know, usual drunk Frank.” he said as he shoved a fork-full of mashed potatoes in his mouth, following it with another swig of beer “I felt sorrier for the cat than I ever would for Frank, I mean, look at him he's furry; almost skin n bones. So, once Frank left the alley, I went looking for the cat. It took me over an hour and calling out like an idiot before I found him or rather..” He scratched at his eyebrow “He found me.” Mickey glanced over at the cat who was still in the front window but had gone quiet now, staring outside with his tail slightly twitching. “It started to rain, I mean heavy. I was soaked and cold, about to give up and then I feel something on my shoulder. I turn around and here's the cat up on the dumpster behind me, soaked to the bone pawing at me.”

This earned a collective Awwwwww from the women around the table as Mick concluded: “It was like he knew I was going to give him a good home or something.”

“Aww Mickey, you're making me want a pet...” Kelly turns to look at Carl, seated next to her “When we get our own place, I want a pet.

“Sure!” Carl shrugs “ I don't see why not.”

“And the fact that it hates Frank...” Ian added with a smile “Is a bonus!” This made those that heard it break out into a fit of laughter as the chatter between them continued along with dinner.

As the meal went on and more alcohol was consumed, they seemed to get louder and louder, almost to the point of shouting to be heard over one another in the heart of lively conversation and laughter as they caught up with one another, filling in gaps of absence in the Gallagher household.

What no one noticed was the cat who had jumped down from the window and made his way to the table, his big yellow eyes darting around as he jumps up on to the table next to Lip. Grabbing a piece of turkey off of Lip's plate, he jumps down with it and takes off to find a hiding place.

“Hey!” Lip shouts after him “That's my turkey you little...hooligan!” he wanted to swear but there were small ears present. For some reason, being a new dad had made him more vigilant now of what was said.

Ian turned to Mickey “I think I have a name for my cat, I'm going to name him Hooligan.”

“It fits!” Mick grinned at him “I'm glad you like your Christmas present.” he leans in, kissing Ian as the rest of the table once again breaks out into laughter.


	4. A Cat Named Hooligan

**1:03 a.m....**

The household is sound asleep after an exhausting day of the chaos of presents and too much food. The house is dark, except for the light left on in the kitchen downstairs and the night light in the upstairs hallway for Frannie. Light from the street shone in through curtained windows, partially illuminating the living room but leaving much of it in shadow.

In the kitchen, the door to the basement creaked open on old hinges and Frank emerged

“Heh heh no matter how hard they try, they can't keep me out of my own house!!” he gently closes the door behind him which lets out a creak that seems to echo in the silence.

“Shit!” he whispered, stopping to listen for noise from elsewhere in the house before turning and stumbling to the fridge, whispering to himself

“ _Twas the night of Christmas and all through the house, all my family is sleeping that I shall not rouse. Tucked away upstairs, all snug in their beds, with visions of Christmas dancing in their heads._ ”

Opening the door, the light from inside the fridge illuminated his smile at the leftovers that greeted him. Reaching in, he grabs a turkey drumstick with one hand and reaches for a bowl of mashed potatoes with the other.

A low menacing growl came from above him. Frank looked up as the growling continued; to see yellow eyes, glaring at him in the darkness from the top of the fridge......

_When down in the kitchen, there arose such a clatter, everyone rushed downstairs, to see what was the matter!_

It sounded like a small heard as everyone who was asleep was now wide awake. They rushed down over both the front and back stairs, towards the source of the noise turning on lights as they went. From the kitchen, there was a loud snarl followed by a _hiiisssssss_ as the sound of pots and pans crashing to the floor

Everyone convened in the kitchen at the same time to see Frank on the kitchen floor which was littered with broken dishes, leftover food, cereal boxes and cereal everywhere. He was half -leaning against the cupboards opposite the fridge, shielding himself from what he called the little 'psycho furball' on top.

“See, I told you that cat was psycho!” Mickey reiterated from beside Ian who was at the head of the group on the kitchen stairs.

“Fuck Sake!” Ian rolled his eyes “What are you doing here, Frank? We made it clear we don't want you here.”

“Get this fucking psychotic animal away from me!”

On the fridge, the cat knocks over another cereal box and a plastic cup. It crouches down low and continues to growl as upstairs, Freddy begins to cry.

“Oh geez, I'll be right back.” Lip turned to go back upstairs

“Lip, you mind putting Frannie back to bed?”

“No, not at all.” he looked down at his niece who was rubbing at her eyes in her pink PJ top and white bottoms with pink hearts on them. “C'mon Frannie, let's go back to bed.” he took the little girls' hand and they went back upstairs.

“Hooligan!” Ian called out to the cat trying to get its attention but it was still totally focused on Frank, puffy tail twitching as it hangs slightly over the edge of the fridge.

“All I wanted was something to eat! I come in here, into my own home, only to get attacked by this animal!” came Frank's protest from the floor.

“Hooligan, that's Enough!” Ian raised his voice at the animal who glanced at Ian, ignoring him but without missing a beat, turned back to Frank as soon as he appeared that he was going to make a move.

“Hooligan!” Ian yelled at the cat again with no response from the feline who continued to growl at Frank as Lip joins them again along with little Freddy who is still screaming his head off.

Without so much as a bum twitch as a warning, the newly named Hooligan leaps off of the top of the fridge, landing softly at Frank's feet, making Frank jump up, knocking more dishes off of the counter. The cat lets out at hiss at Frank as a warning before turning, tail high, towards Lip and Freddy, who he gives a nasty look before taking off; most likely to find somewhere to hide.

“Fucking cat!” Frank cursed “Ian, throw that fucking cat out the back door, where it belongs!”

“Like you do, Frank?” Ian quipped

“Oh come on!” Frank pleaded “After all of that, you're still going to throw me out?”

“Yes...”

“Your cat terrorizes me in the middle of the night and this is how you want to make it up to me?”

“He wouldn't have terrorized you if you weren't in here.” Ian grabs Frank by the collar and hustles him towards the back door with the help of Mickey on the other side of him who opens the door.

“Wait a minute, if I wasn't in here, in my own house?”

As Ian pushes Frank out the door, Mickey double flips Frank the bird “Merry Christmas and Fuck You; Frank!”


	5. Merry Christmas to All and To All, Goodnight!!

“Just look at this mess!!” Debs looked around the kitchen, the mess of food, broken dishes and cereal boxes everywhere. Sighing, she bent down and picked up a plastic sippy cup that had been launched off of the fridge. Holding it up top the light, she made a face of disgust “Ugh, who knows how long that's been up there! Glad there are lots where those came from.” She tossed it in the garbage, it's not like Freddy would need it just yet anyway.

“I'll get the broom!” Liam offered as Lip came toward Debs. He was holding Freddy who was still bawling his head off.

“What can we do auntie?” Lip asked in a cute voice “We want to help.”

“Not funny, Lip. I need you to get him to shut up!” she snapped, rubbing at her eyes and her temples and shrugging her shoulders, sighed.

“I'm sorry, I love my nephew, I really do but if he doesn't shut up soon, I am going to strangle him!”

“You alright, Debs?”

“ Headache and it's been hangin' on for going on three days now.”

“That sounds more like a migraine to me, you might want to see a doctor,” Lip advised

“Yeah, you might want to get your kid to shut up.” Debs teased, just because she could; as he had teased her when she had Franny.

Lip smiled tiredly at his little sister “Well, I guess that makes us even.”

“Here, give him to me.” Ian walks up to his siblings, a smile on his face. “Let's see if this works...”

Lip hands baby Freddy carefully over to Ian who cradles him in his arms, talking softly to the infant and rocking him gently. After a few minutes, Freddy goes quiet and is drifting off to sleep.

“Boom! There you have it!...the Uncle effect!” Debs points to Ian and baby.

“Now I will know who to go when I can't get the little guy to sleep.” Lip smiled at Ian and Freddy.

“I will go put him upstairs.” Ian offered

“Sure! I'll uh, help Debs” Lip takes out a cigarette and lights it before beginning to gather up the pots and pans.

They were almost finished when Debs cell phone began to ring. Putting aside the broom and dustpan, she takes the phone off of the counter.

“Guys! It's Fiona! And she's video calling!”

Everyone gathered around Debs as she answers, Fiona's face pops onto the screen, teary-eyed, she tried to appear happy.

“Hey, Gallagher's!”

Everyone around the phone waved and greeted back and when everyone was quiet, Debs asked “What's up? Is everything OK?”

Fiona wiped away tears in her eyes with her knuckles before she answered: “Yeah, it's good to see you guys!”

Although she tried, she couldn't hold the emotions back any longer and her face scrunches up

“I.....” She broke down into tears, her face still scrunched up underneath her hand as she sobbed.

“What is it, Fiona?” Debbie asked, worried “Is everything OK?”

“Yeah..it's just I ..I have something to confess...”

“What? What is it?..” Debs couldn't stand a kept secret, especially if it was one of her sisters.

“I just couldn't wait to tell you anymore because...well...I was supposed to be there by now..”

“What? Really!” Debbie's face lit up at the news.

“Yeah, but my flight was delayed, then they canceled it.”

“That Sucks!” Lip piped up as he moved to be able to see Fiona better.

“Oh wait, it gets worse..” Fiona paused to wipe at her eyes again, this time with her sleeve “I asked them if they could get me on the next flight going out but everything into Chicago has been grounded. Have you been watching the news?”

“No..why?”

“There's a storm headed that way, gonna be bad. Winds and heavy snowfall so hunker down, Gallagher's!”

“So when are you going to be able to get here?” Debs asked, desperation in her voice.

“I dunno Debs, I guess we will see when the storm passes...Shit... I really wanted to surprise you guys.” There was a look of disappointment that came across on Fiona's face as she said it and her eyes welled with tears again.

“It's OK Fiona” Debbie offered “You couldn't help it, stupid storm!” She rolled her eyes which made Fiona smile.

“Yeah Fiona” Ian's face appeared in the frame now

“Ian! Move your big ass head!” Debs teased, giving Ian a shove “I can't see Fiona!”

On the other end of the phone, Fiona was smiling and even laughing a little as Ian appeared back in the frame, scowling at his little sister.

“Ian! I didn't expect you to be out of prison yet!” Fiona smiled at her brother

“Yeah, well I came up for parole and at the time, Mick and I weren't doing so hot and needed a break. He encouraged me..”

“More like forced..” Mick interjected

“To go for my parole..” Mickey came over and put his arm around Ian's shoulders since Ian was hunched over a bit.

“And, here we are!” Mickey was grinning from ear to ear, as is Ian.

“Heya Mickey! Did you get paroled too?”

Mick grinned devilishly “Nope, I dug my way out with sharpened spoons!” He stuck out his tongue “I couldn't stand being away from this guy any longer!” pointing to Ian who was grinning boyishly.

Mickey kisses Ian on the cheek, like a goof before they move on, filling Fiona in, telling her the story from earlier that day starting with Ian's Christmas surprise and ending with Frank being terrorized by Hooligan which was the reason for them still being conscious at this hour.

This, of course, had Fiona laughing “I'm sorry I missed it! That's Hilarious! Great choice of a gift, Mickey. It sounds like Hooligan is fitting right in; I can't wait to meet the critter!” she had to also stifle a yawn. “I've probably been keeping you guys up, I should let you get to bed.”

“Yeah” Debs agreed “Frannie will be up before you know it.”

Fiona smiled at the mention of her niece “Give Frannie and Freddy my love.”

“We will!” Debs and Lip echoed.

On the phone, Fiona saluted them “Merry Christmas To All, And To All, A Good Night, Gallagher's!!”


End file.
